Department for Transport

East Coast Railway Line

Mr David Davis: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, to and from which destinations there will be a reduction in the number of daily services as a result of the new franchise agreement for the East Coast Main Line.

Claire Perry: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 04 December 2014.The correct answer should have been:

The Department has contracted a minimum level of service to all destinations which is broadly at today’s level, with the franchisee having flexibility to operate services in addition to this. There are also several notable enhancements to the current level of service at destinations such as Bradford Forster Square, Harrogate, Shipley, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Stations such as Thornaby, Middlesbrough, Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Sunderland will receive InterCity East Coast services for the first time. In some instances the number of daily services contracted at intermediate stations is a marginal reduction from the current level. These are typically a reduction of 1 daily call only, in one direction (to / from London) and will be often only temporary prior to the introduction of new rolling stock. Stations that will receive a minor reduction include: Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Dunbar and Darlington. In one year, the number of daily services at Stevenage is a marginal reduction from the current level. This is in one direction (to London) and is only temporary prior to the introduction of new rolling stock.

Claire Perry: The Department has contracted a minimum level of service to all destinations which is broadly at today’s level, with the franchisee having flexibility to operate services in addition to this. There are also several notable enhancements to the current level of service at destinations such as Bradford Forster Square, Harrogate, Shipley, York, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Stations such as Thornaby, Middlesbrough, Dewsbury, Huddersfield and Sunderland will receive InterCity East Coast services for the first time. In some instances the number of daily services contracted at intermediate stations is a marginal reduction from the current level. These are typically a reduction of 1 daily call only, in one direction (to / from London) and will be often only temporary prior to the introduction of new rolling stock. Stations that will receive a minor reduction include: Morpeth, Alnmouth, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Dunbar and Darlington. In one year, the number of daily services at Stevenage is a marginal reduction from the current level. This is in one direction (to London) and is only temporary prior to the introduction of new rolling stock.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Mrs Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of the land due to be compulsorily purchased for High Speed Two is required for (a) construction of the track and associated infrastructure and (b) environment mitigation.

Mr Robert Goodwill: It is not possible to answer the question as stated. HS2 is an integrated railway that has been designed to avoid and or reduce environmental impacts throughout its development. The approach used to developing this railway has been to fully integrate environmental mitigation into the railway’s design. For example, environmental impacts and mitigations are considered when designing the depth of a particular cutting. It is therefore not possible to separate the usage of compulsorily purchased land into the two defined categories.

Transport: Renewable Energy

Jonathan Reynolds: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what recent progress his Department has made in increasing the use of renewable energy in transport.

Mr Robert Goodwill: The Renewable Transport Fuel Obligation (RTFO) is the UK’s primary mechanism for meeting our targets for renewable energy in transport. In October the Department established a Transport Energy Taskforce made up of experts from industry and Non-Government Organisations to examine options to meet our renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction targets. Under the RTFO scheme the volume of biofuel supplied in the UK increased from 2.7 per cent of fuel supplied in its first year (2008/09) to 3.46 per cent in 2013/14. Over this period average greenhouse savings of biofuels supplied relative to petrol and diesel increased from 46 per cent to 69 per cent (without taking account of emissions from indirect land use change). We introduced additional incentives for waste-derived biofuels in 2011. We are also seeking to encourage the development of advanced biofuels and launched a demonstration plant competition on the 10th of December. The competition will provide up to £25 million of capital funding, supported by significant private sector investment. With the UK’s world class research capabilities, we have the potential to become a global player in the advanced biofuels market.

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the gap has been between the number of driving examiners needed and those available in the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency in each month of 2014.

Claire Perry: The table below shows a break-down of the number of examiners we planned for in each month of 2014 and the actual number of examiners available.  Planned examiner levelsActual examiner levelsDifferenceJan15501547-3Feb15571545-12Mar15601548-12Apr14591564+105May14611475+14Jun14601475+15Jul14521477+25Aug14681457-11Sep14971482-15Oct15081490-17Nov15351491-44Dec15441483-62

Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what the total cost to the public purse was of the competition process to find a private sector partner for the Vehicle Certification Agency.

Claire Perry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 5th January 2015 to Question 218951.

Home Office

Marriage Certificates

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when she plans to bring forward legislative proposals to allow the mothers of brides and grooms to be named on marriage certificates; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: The Home Office has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Libya

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the security situation along the Libyan border.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK Government is very concerned by increasing violence across Libya and the threat posed to Libya’s democratic transition. The UK, along with France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the US, the EU, and the UN, issued a statement on 3 December expressing grave concern over the deteriorating situation in Libya, and condemned recent violence, including air strikes, which undermines the prospects for a negotiated settlement. The UK urges all actors to refrain from the use of violence to achieve political aims. In light of the deteriorating security situation the UK Government changed its travel advice on 26 July 2014 to advise against all travel to Libya and urged British Nationals in Libya to leave. This advice remains unchanged.

Libya

Stephen Phillips: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what support the UK is providing to the Libyan government to improve border security in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The UK has provided assistance and support to the EU Border Assistance Mission (EUBAM) in order to help the Libyan authorities monitor their own borders. Due to the deterioration of the political and security situation in Libya, the Mission has relocated to Tunis and reduced to a core team, subject to the completion of a comprehensive European External Action Service (EEAS) Strategic Review due in February 2015.

Syria

Mr Frank Roy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, how much the Government has contributed to reviving local governance and administration in Syria in the last 12 months.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: In the past 12 months, the Government has provided £2.3 million in support to local governance in opposition-controlled areas in Syria. This funding has enabled the training of local officials to help them ensure the provision of essential services to ordinary Syrians in their towns and villages, including vital infrastructure repair and rehabilitation projects which meet the needs of local people. The project is planned to continue for at least one more year. The UK is committed to helping the Syrian people who continue to suffer after more than three years of conflict.

Members: Correspondence

Sir Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, when he intends to reply to the letter to him dated 10 November from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton, with regard to Mr P Metcalfe.

Mr David Lidington: On 17 December, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) replied to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton's letter of 10 November, which was received on 18 November.

Bahrain

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent meetings Ministers and officials in his Department have held with human rights organisations in Bahrain to discuss the detention of human rights activists in that country.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in Bahrain frequently meet members from Bahraini human rights organisations to discuss the human rights situation there. Our engagement is constructive and focussed on supporting human rights and political reform. Most recently, in November, our Embassy officials were in contact with the Bahrain Human Rights Society regarding the detention of a number of protesters who were charged with disrupting the elections process, joining an illegal group, and calling for the overthrow of the government.In December, I chaired the fourth UK-Bahrain Joint Working Group where we discussed progress on Bahrain reform agenda. The UK is actively engaged on Bahrain’s human rights and political reform agenda, and is providing a package of technical assistance with a focus on strengthening human rights and rule of law.

Climate Change

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he had any discussions with his overseas counterparts concerning the attendance of environmental and human rights campaigners at the UN Climate Change Conference in Lima.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: The participation of civil society in the UN climate change negotiations is provided for by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and well established. Engagement with civil society is a priority for the UK, which is why the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, my right hon. Friend the Member for Kingston and Surbiton (Mr Davey), who led the UK's delegation and our officials, met regularly with civil society during the Lima negotiations.

Colombia

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what reports he has received on (a) collusion between members of the Colombian security forces and post-demobilisation paramilitary groups in the Uraba region and (b) attacks perpetrated by post-demobilisation paramilitary groups against (i) leaders of land restitution claims and (ii) other human rights defenders.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: In September 2014, British Officials in Bogotá attended a meeting between the Colombian Minister of the Interior and non-government organisations (NGOs) that work with the Curvaradó community in Urabá. The NGOs expressed concern about coalitions of local armed groups, business leaders, politicians and the military, who were blocking implementation of court orders, and threatening leaders and land restitution claimants. The NGO coalition ‘We are Defenders’ reported that during 2013 there were 78 murders of Human Rights Defenders of which 15 were carried out by paramilitary successor groups. The Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, my right hon. Friend the Member for East Devon (Mr Swire), Minister for our relations with Colombia, raised concerns about this with his opposite numbers at the Colombian Foreign Ministry when he visited Bogotá last year. The British Embassy also raises these and other cases with Colombian authorities regularly.

Bahrain

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that Dr Abduljalil Alsingace receives adequate and professional medical care and is released from imprisonment.

Mr Tobias Ellwood: Our Embassy in Bahrain has raised the issue of access to medical treatment for Dr Abduljalil Alsingace with the Ombudsman for the Ministry of Interior. We encourage the Government of Bahrain to ensure that due legal process is followed in all cases and international norms of justice upheld. Our Ambassador in Bahrain has raised our broader concerns about detainee rights and prison conditions with the Government of Bahrain at the highest levels, and will continue to do so.

Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

Mentorsme

Toby Perkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the performance of the Mentors Me website.

Matthew Hancock: Last year the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) funded the creation of a network of 27,000 accredited business mentors and partnered with the British Bankers Association (BBA) and Small Firms Enterprise Development Initiative (SFEDI) to create the mentorsme website. BBA and SFEDI now lead this initiative and have established a sector-led Enterprise Mentoring Advisory Council with responsibility for assessing the performance of the mentorsme website and the initiative overall.   The Advisory Council also have responsibility for upholding the standards for enterprise mentoring, promoting awareness of the benefits of and access to enterprise mentoring and acting as a central policy advisory group.  BIS has a seat on the Advisory Council and continues to support mentorsme by driving awareness and take up of mentoring as part of the national Business is GREAT campaign and by sharing research evidence and insight.

Apprentices

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that employers offer apprenticeships to disadvantaged young people.

Nick Boles: The Department has established a new advisory group to help address barriers and increase diversity within apprenticeships. We also reflect the additional needs of disadvantaged young people through the apprenticeship funding system by extending the fully funded rate currently applicable to 16 – 18 year olds to 16 – 24 year olds, where an appropriate assessment has been made. We plan to continue this support under the reforms with employers being entitled to receive the 16 – 18 recruitment payment. The Skills Funding Agency’s National Apprenticeship Service has also developed a Toolkit encouraging and helping employers to recruit and support disabled young people. We have also introduced traineeships to support young people who are not work-ready to be able to compete for apprenticeships by providing work preparation training; a substantial high quality work placement; and English and maths for those that have not achieved at Level 2.

New Businesses: Stourbridge

Margot James: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many new businesses have opened in Stourbridge constituency in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: The estimated number of business start-ups in the Stourbridge constituency between 2009 and 2013, is shown in the table below.   YearEstimated number of business start-ups in Stourbridge20096102010640201159020125502013550 Source: BankSearch: number of new business bank accounts opened. All figures rounded to the nearest 10.

Business: Procurement

Steve Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the costs to small and medium-sized businesses of the practice whereby companies require a supplier company to make a payment in order to join or to remain on that company's list of suppliers.

Matthew Hancock: The Department is aware that the practice of suppliers having to pay to join or remain on a supplier list is an issue in some sectors. As a result, the Government has already taken action to prohibit this practice in certain sectors.   We are currently consulting to understand the prevalence and impact of this practice economy wide. The consultation will strengthen the evidence we have on supplier lists, and will allow us to understand the necessary scope, and implications of further changes. This will ensure that any action is appropriately targeted and achieves real change on the ground.

Renewable Energy

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when he expects to publish final recommendations following his Department's consultation, the Electricity Intensive Industries - Relief from the Indirect Costs of Renewables.

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of the potential effect on the UK sawmilling sector of its exclusion from the provisions of the Electricity Intensive Industries - Relief from the Indirect Costs of Renewables scheme.

Mrs Anne McGuire: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what estimate he has made of the cost of including (a) the UK sawmilling sector and (b) all industries eligible for relief under the Climate Change Agreement in the scope of the Electricity Intensive Industries - Relief from the Indirect Costs of Renewables scheme.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is committed to providing relief from the indirect costs of renewables to the most electricity intensive industries that operate in global markets. We are bound by the European Commission’s state aid rules in this regard and cannot, therefore, simply use climate change agreements as the basis for eligibility for these schemes. We have issued a consultation on a proposed methodology and are currently analysing the results. We expect to publish a Government response to the consultation early in the New Year and final conclusions on which sectors will be eligible once we have state aid approval which we expect to receive by summer 2015.   The saw-milling sector was not included in the proposed eligibility list because, based on the data available, it does not pass the proposed UK sector-level test of requiring an electricity-intensity of at least 7%. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills officials are content to discuss this with the association further in the New Year.   It is worth noting that the Government has already increased the discount on the Climate Change Levy on electricity to 90% for those sectors, like sawmilling, that are in receipt of a climate change agreement and that we are also capping the cost of the Carbon Price Floor at £18 per ton of CO2 – 60% of the original 2020 target price – to reduce the indirect cost to industry.

Recreation Spaces: Maps

Chris Bryant: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, pursuant to the Answer of 16 December 2014 to Question 217965 and with reference to paragraph 2.219 of the Autumn Statement 2014, what funding he has allocated to the free online map of green space in each financial year to 2019-20; and when that map will be publicly available.

Matthew Hancock: Ordnance Survey is still in discussions with Government on the deliverables, timescales and costs related to the green space online map.

Small Businesses

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how many small companies were formed in (a) Hertfordshire, (b) England and (c) the UK in each of the last 10 years.

Matthew Hancock: Companies House cannot provide the exact information as it does not register companies by size. The future size of companies will depend on their post incorporation trading activities. However, Companies House has provided figures for the total number of companies formed in Hertfordshire, England and Wales (it is not possible to easily separate out the figures for England alone) and the UK in each of the last ten years up until November 2014, the latest date for which figures are available, and these are as follows:   YearHertfordshireEngland and WalesUnited Kingdom (GB before 2009)20058,972340,302361,12420069,257373,627396,791200711,726422,478448,02420088,687319,497339,80820098,991332,038352,75320109,817365,461389,636201110,643412,856440,624201211,437448,329479,539201311,858484,143517,1862014 (to November)12,093502,014533,782

Small Businesses: Procurement

Jonathan Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what assessment he has made of research by the Federation of Small Business which found that 17 per cent of small businesses claim mistreatment by larger firms that they supply; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: The Government is taking forward a suite of measures to help redress the imbalance between small businesses and the large firms that they supply. We are working closely with our stakeholders, including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), to develop the evidence base on poor payment practices. Our on-going consultation on introducing a new reporting requirement for large companies on their payment practices, the “Duty to Report” consultation, will strengthen the evidence on how widespread some of the payment practices identified by the FSB are, and on what further action the Government should take. The FSB’s research will contribute to our wider assessment on these issues.

Defence Equipment: Bahrain

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will take steps to institute additional scrutiny of sales of defence and security equipment to Bahrain; and if he will take additional measures to further prevent the sale to Bahrain of defence equipment which would be used against civilians.

Matthew Hancock: The UK operates one of the most rigorous export control systems in the world. All export licence applications are carefully assessed on a case-by-case basis against the Consolidated EU and National Arms Export Licensing Criteria, taking into account all prevailing circumstances at the time of application. Exports to Bahrain continue to be subject to close scrutiny, in particular under Criterion Two which concerns the ‘respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in the country of final destination as well as respect by that country for international humanitarian law’.

EU External Trade: South Korea

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether goods produced in the Kaesong Industrial Complex by North Korean labourers are included in the European Union-South Korean Free Trade Agreement; and if he will make an assessment of the implications for that agreement of the findings of the report by the US-Korea Institute at SAIS of March 2014 on the wages of North Korean workers at that complex.

Matthew Hancock: The goods produced in the Kaesong Industrial complex are not included in the EU-Republic of Korea FTA and therefore there are no implications for that agreement of the findings of the March 2014 report by the US-Korea Institute at SAIS on the wages of North Korean workers at that complex.

Citizens' Advice Bureaux: Wales

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, how much funding each Citizens Advice Bureau in Wales has received from his Department in each of the last five years.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) fund the national umbrella body for the Citizens Advice Service in England and Wales – Citizens Advice – on behalf of all Government departments and the Welsh Government.   Central Government does not fund individual Citizens Advice Bureaux who receive funding from a variety of public, charity and private sources, with core funding typically provided by the Local Authority in which they are located.   BIS does not hold information on funding of individual bureaux.

Housing: Sales

Sir Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will make it his policy to provide guidance for the protection of consumers on the practices of cash for property businesses so as to ensure that sellers are fully aware of the financial implications.

Jo Swinson: There are government funded consumer websites such as the Money Advice Service and Citizens Advice that provide advice and guidance to home sellers who wish to sell their property quickly and may be considering businesses offering a quick sale service.   In 2013, the Office for Fair Trading published a report on quick house sales and as a result targeted advice and tips were developed for those considering this type of sale. Businesses involved in the quick sale market are subject to consumer laws such as the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and may be subject to sector specific legislation such as the Estate Agency Act 1979 (EAA), depending on the nature of the work they undertake.

Cosalt

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, if he will initiate an inquiry into the performance of the insolvency service in handling the case of COSALT.

Jo Swinson: A report on the directors’ conduct was submitted by the administrators of Cosalt plc to my Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) under the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986. When considering whether to seek a director’s disqualification The Insolvency Service has to consider the seriousness of the misconduct alleged and whether there is sufficient evidence of the alleged misconduct to satisfy the court that the director should be disqualified. In this case, the Insolvency Service also considered information received from other regulators and the concerns raised by the company’s shareholders. A decision was made that there was insufficient evidence of relevant misconduct for it to be in the public interest to investigate further since the issues raised are unlikely to be viewed by the Court as serious enough misconduct to merit the minimum disqualification period of two years.   The allegation of a breach of Companies Act requirements to file accounts with Companies House was considered by BIS prosecuting lawyers, who decided not to bring a criminal prosecution against the directors of Cosalt PLC. A detailed explanation of the basis for the decision has been provided to a number of MPs who had expressed concerns.   Complaints about the work and levels of service provided by the Insolvency Service are taken very seriously. Details about The Insolvency Service’s complaints procedure is available on the websitewww.gov.uk/government/publications/complaints-procedure. If matters are not resolved, then individuals can contact The Adjudicator’s Office which acts as an unbiased referee into complaints about The Insolvency Service.

Apprentices

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, what support his Department is giving to businesses who wish to take on apprentices.

Nick Boles: The Apprenticeship Grant for Employers (AGE) provides £1,500 to help smaller employers recruit a new apprentice aged 16 to 24. We have made £170m additional funding available over 2014-16 financial years to fund over 100,000 additional incentive payments. Final data show that between February 2012 and July 2014 there were 96,400 apprenticeship starts for which a payment was made through the AGE Grant. A further 11,100 were in the pipeline (started but not yet paid).   Apprenticeship reforms are putting employers in the lead of designing apprenticeships, making it easier and more attractive for them to offer more in the future. The funding model being trialed during 2014/15 is based on the Government contributing £2 for every £1 the employer contributes towards training, with additional payments being made to small businesses; on employment of a 16-18 year old; and on completion of an apprenticeship.   In addition, from April 2016 employers will not be required to pay employer National Insurance contributions for apprentices under age of 25 on earnings up to the upper earnings limit.

City Link

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, whether the Insolvency Service plans to conduct an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the administration of Citylink.

Jo Swinson: In the first instance, it will be for the appointed Administrators to investigate the events leading up to the collapse of Citylink. The Administrators also have a statutory obligation to report confidentially to The Insolvency Service about the conduct of the directors. If misconduct is alleged the Secretary of State then has a discretionary power to seek the disqualification of the directors where it is believed to be in the public interest   The Insolvency Service also has discretionary powers under the Companies Acts to conduct enquiries on behalf of the Secretary of State where it appears that there has been misconduct in relation to the affairs of any company, including those not subject to formal insolvency. Any individual or organisation with evidence of misconduct should send full details of their complaint and all the supporting evidence to: Intelligence Hub, Investigations and Enforcement Services, The Insolvency Service, 3rd Floor Cannon House, 18 Priory Queensway, Birmingham B4 6FD (email: intelligence.live@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk)   My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills has powers to use information arising from such enquiries, to seek the disqualification of the directors of the company, petition the court to wind up the company or bring criminal proceedings.

City Link

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department (a) first became aware of the possible administration of Citylink and (b) was advised by Citylink or its advisers that the company might be placed into administration.

Matthew Hancock: The Department was contacted by Better Capital on 23rd December 2014 and informed that they intended to put City Link into administration the following day.

City Link

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, when his Department was first made aware that there would be insufficient funds from the administration of Citylink to pay statutory redundancy payments to that company's former employees.

Jo Swinson: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills was notified of the impending administration of City Link Limited on 23 December 2014.   It is typical that an insolvent company has insufficient money to pay their creditors in full (including employees). This is why there are special arrangements for employees who are made redundant under the insolvency provisions of the Employment Rights Act 1996 to ensure that they receive a basic minimum of the debts owed by the employer from the National Insurance Fund.

Department for International Development

Syria

Mr Nigel Dodds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what the UK's financial share is of the overall EU contribution to helping the refugee crisis in Syria.

Justine Greening: The UK share of the EU humanitarian and development budget, including the overall EU contribution of around $1.2 billion to helping the humanitarian crisis in Syria and the region, is approximately 15 per cent.

Syria

Bob Stewart: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what support her Department is giving to the countries surrounding Syria to cope with refugees fleeing the civil war in Syria.

Justine Greening: In the current financial year we have committed £62 million to support activities in Lebanon, £39 million to support activities in Jordan and £53 million to support activities undertaken across the wider region, including in Iraq and Turkey. Overall, the UK has committed £700 million of support in response to the humanitarian crisis, including food, medical care and relief items for over a million people in Syria and the region.

Department for Education

Carers: Grandparents

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what advice her Department gives to local authorities on supporting grandparents who act as kinship carers for one or more of their family's children.

Mr Edward Timpson: The Department for Education issued ‘Family and Friends Care: Statutory Guidance for Local Authorities’ in 2011. This guidance is clear that children and young people unable to live with their parents who are in the care of family and friends should receive the support which they and their carers need to safeguard and promote their welfare, whether or not they are looked after. It sets out a requirement on local authorities to develop clear, easily accessible policies to describe how they will assess and support children in the care of family and friends.

Special Educational Needs

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 2 December 2014 to Question 216048, what advice her Department gives to local authorities to ensure that the local offer is responsive to local needs.

Mr Edward Timpson: Local authorities are legally required to have regard to the advice in the special educational needs and disability (SEND) code of practice in carrying out their duties under the Children and Families Act 2014, including those in respect of the local offer.   The code of practice (paragraphs 4.1 to 4.28 in particular) makes clear that local authorities must review their local offer in consultation with children and young people with SEND and the parents of children with SEND. It also makes clear that local authorities must publish comments from children, parents and young people about the local offer and publish the action they intend to take in response to those comments. This will help to ensure that local offers are responsive to local needs.

Children: Somerset

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps she is taking to ensure that vulnerable children in Somerset are identified and protected from harm.

Mr Edward Timpson: Ofsted inspected Somerset County Council’s arrangements for the protection of children between 24 June 2013 and 03 July 2013 and published their findings on 05 August 2013. Ofsted judged the authority’s performance as ‘inadequate’.   I take any failure to provide children and young people with the services they deserve very seriously and issued the Council with an Improvement Notice in November 2013. The Improvement Notice requires the Council to institute an Improvement Board headed by an independent chair to drive improvement and hold partners to account.   I am currently considering next steps in relation to this intervention and will inform Somerset County Council of my decision shortly.

Schools: Asbestos

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she will publish the findings of her Department's survey into asbestos in schools.

Mr David Laws: The Department for Education is working with stakeholders, experts and the Health and Safety Executive to thoroughly consider the latest evidence, and determine appropriate policy responses. We will provide an update on the management of asbestos in schools shortly.

Schools: Asbestos

Nic Dakin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, when she will publish her Department's review of its asbestos in schools policy.

Mr David Laws: The Department for Education is working with stakeholders, experts and the Health and Safety Executive to thoroughly consider the latest evidence, and determine appropriate policy responses. We will provide an update on the management of asbestos in schools shortly.

Free Schools

Kevin Brennan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which free schools have changed their name since opening.

Mr Edward Timpson: The following free schools have changed their name since opening:   East Birmingham Network Academy, formerly East Birmingham Network Free SchoolNishkam Primary School Wolverhampton, formerly Anand Primary SchoolRobert Owen Academy, formerly Robert Owen SchoolDixons King's Academy, formerly Kings Science AcademyAldborough Primary School, formerly E-ACT AldboroughBrook House Primary School, formerly E-ACT HartsbrookThe Minerva Academy, formerly CET WestminsterSolebay Primary, a Paradigm Academy, formerly CET Tower Hamlets.

Ministry of Justice

Confiscation Orders

Mrs Mary Glindon: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what measures are in place to ensure that the relationship between HM Courts and Tribunals Service confiscation units and the Police and Crown Prosecution Service is maintained when confiscation units are privatised.

Mr Shailesh Vara: Once the contract has been awarded for compliance and enforcement services it will recognise and reward the Service Provider for the improved performance of Confiscation overall therefore ensuring that the successful provider maintains a positive and effective partnership with all agencies enforcing Confiscation Orders. The service provider will need to comply with any new Government policy as well as to work with other agencies to implement any changes to how Confiscation is managed in the future.

Squatting: Prosecutions

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what discussions his Department has had with the Crown Prosecution Service on ensuring that prosecutions are made under squatting legislation.

Mike Penning: Squatting in someone’s home can cause the rightful owner untold misery and it is right that the practice is now criminal. We worked closely with the enforcement agencies when preparing for the commencement of the offence of squatting in a residential building, created by section 144 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012. Prosecutions will always be brought where appropriate.

Insolvency

Mr Andy Slaughter: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what recent representations the Minister has received on his policy on insolvency litigation.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Government has received a number of representations in relation to reforms set out in Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act 2012. Those reforms are due to apply to insolvency litigation from April 2015.

Prisons: Drugs

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many (a) visitors, (b) staff and (c) prisoners were caught attempting to smuggle illegal drugs into each prison in England in each of the last four years; and what steps have been taken in respect of those so caught.

Andrew Selous: The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) takes the issue of all contraband in prisons extremely seriously and deploys a comprehensive range of robust searching and security measures to detect items of contraband both at the point of entry to the prison and concealed within the prison. We do not tolerate drugs in prison and anyone caught with them will be punished and could face further prosecution. Table 1 below shows the number of visitors who were arrested by the police after being caught attempting to convey drugs into custody. NOMS does not hold any information on any criminal justice outcomes for those individuals. NOMS’ policy is to refer all visitors to prisons found in possession of drugs to the police. In addition, closed visits, where the prisoner and visitor are prevented from physical contact, are used as a measure to deal with visitors and prisoners who smuggle or are suspected of conveying drugs through visits. Table 2 below provides the number of staff who have been dismissed, excluded and convicted as result of being caught attempting to convey drugs into custody. Please note that some of the outcomes may be as a result of multiple allegations, for example conveying drugs and mobile phones. The data has not been provided by individual prison, as to do so could lead to identification of individuals. No information is held on the number of prisoners caught attempting to convey illegal drugs into prison. Table 3 below shows the number of prisoners caught in possession of drugs whilst in prison. Any prisoner found attempting to convey drugs can be referred to the police for prosecution and also charged under the prison rules, which could result in restrictions to the facilities that they can access in prison and added days to their sentence. Please be aware that all figures have been drawn from live administrative data systems which may be amended at any time. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. The data are not subject to audit. Table 1. Number of incidents where visitors were arrested by the police on suspicion of conveying drugs into prisons1 in England, April 2011-March 2014 2010/112011/122012/132013/14Total2268229248296Acklington61  Altcourse1 22Aylesbury2211Bedford1101Belmarsh1101Birmingham1 07Brinsford  26Bristol2321Brixton151462Bronzefield4111Buckley Hall6536Bullingdon6105Canterbury 1  Castington14  Channings Wood  23Chelmsford2311Coldingley1 12Cookham Wood  01Dartmoor1   Deerbolt4230Doncaster711115Dorchester1 11Dovegate17512Dover2130Durham 1044Eastwood Park  01Edmunds Hill2   Erlestoke2 21Everthorpe7137Exeter2122Featherstone2242Feltham3632Ford  01Forest Bank2573Foston Hall  01Frankland4242Full Sutton  10Garth6872Gartree1 20Glen Parva1333Gloucester3   Guys Marsh2152Haslar1   Haverigg2 17Hewell10969High Down 102Highpoint3186Hindley4214Holloway1 01Holme House2234Hull  15Isis 302Isle of Wight2151Kennet21  Kirkham1   Lancaster Farms2211Leeds1 32Leicester2150Lewes2203Lincoln3233Lindholme121279Littlehey2111Liverpool4743Long Lartin  02Low Newton1213Lowdham Grange  511Maidstone1 01Manchester2210Moorland2433Morton Hall 1  Mount171465New Hall  10Northumberland  612Norwich  12Nottingham2204Oakwood  110Onley2252Pentonville131796Peterborough2 50Portland  10Preston5620Ranby6353Reading1   Risley7652Rochester2132Rye Hill5122Sheppey: Elmley4154Sheppey: Swaleside7823Standford Hill1   Stafford 420Stocken2112Stoke Heath 110Styal  10Thameside  1233Thorn Cross1   The Verne41  Wandsworth1220Wayland3211Wealstun1158Wellingborough12  Werrington  10Wetherby1121Whitemoor2 04Winchester1 20Wolds3102Wormwood Scrubs7253Wymott3741 1. No visitors were apprehended at establishments not listed above 2. Refers to the number of incidents and not the number of visitors arrested. Table 2. Number staff convicted, dismissed and excluded in relation to conveying drugs into prisons1 in England, April 2011-March 2014 2010/112011/122012/132013/14Total1116925Convicted1111513Dismissed0121Excluded042111. No visitors were apprehended at establishments not listed above 2. These figures include directly and non directly employed staff. The data is in regard to the number of staff removed from service, not the number of dismissals, exclusions and convictions, as this could result in counting one member of staff more than once.  Table 3. Number of incidents where drugs were found in a prisoner's possession1 in prisons2 in England, April 2011-March 2014 2010/112011/122012/132013/14Total1,1631,2111,5451,694Acklington186  Altcourse59266441Ashfield1 11Aylesbury6227Bedford12563Belmarsh6811Birmingham123873Blantyre House  1 Brinsford 5518Bristol191069Brixton62105Bronzefield1011135Buckley Hall14355543Bullingdon27232224Bure1  1Canterbury 2  Castington1225  Channings Wood139137Chelmsford8182631Coldingley  14Dartmoor11 1Deerbolt26610Doncaster221159100Dorchester912102Dovegate33154558Dover864 Downview1   Drake Hall1 1 Durham4957615Eastwood Park   21Edmunds Hill1   Erlestoke523137Everthorpe911414Exeter31454629Featherstone9182038Feltham 3106Ford22251434Forest Bank9652113154Foston Hall1231Frankland122 Full Sutton24  Garth87189Gartree 111Glen Parva3561Gloucester413 Guys Marsh9151211Haslar1   Hatfield1  8Haverigg111397Hewell16273121High Down3714Highpoint9112122Hindley7134Hollesley Bay 1  Holloway223 Holme House34453929Hull2233Huntercombe 142Isis  77Isle of Wight 281Kennet4964Kirkham9643Kirklevington 667Lancaster Farms3313Leeds8153529Leicester41241925Lewes10588Leyhill127118Lincoln1512811Lindholme2674Littlehey   2Liverpool8251Long Lartin 1 1Low Newton27281515Lowdham Grange10133512Maidstone 1 2Manchester44423057Moorland5422Morton Hall1234Mount1517227New Hall2 2 North Sea Camp99197Northallerton2384Northumberland  3936Norwich 142Nottingham12434017Oakwood  747Onley27252024Pentonville30262431Peterborough752041Portland1121Preston51305347Ranby2 22Reading1   Risley181043Rochester21331Rye Hill1572430Sheppey: Elmley38281910Sheppey: Standford Hill24151411Sheppey: Swaleside4222Shepton Mallet 1  Spring Hill1   Stafford101874Stocken55211Stoke Heath425 Styal21105Sudbury30886188Swinfen Hall 22 Thameside  2261Thorn Cross22  Verne513 Wandsworth 415Warren Hill1 2 Wayland314 Wealstun1 87Wellingborough521 Wetherby1011 3Whatton   2Whitemoor11 1Winchester1 11Wolds28112118Woodhill  11Wormwood Scrubs106213Wymott452  1. Includes drugs found in the prisoner's cell   2. No prisoners were found with drugs at establishments not listed above.

Immigration: Appeals

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many immigration tribunal decisions in favour of the applicant were subsequently overturned on appeal in (a) 2013-14 and (b) 2014-15 to date.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Upper Tribunal disposed of 8,902 appeals between April 2013 and March 2014. 2,238 of these appeals have been identified as lodged by the Home Secretary, of which 943 were allowed. The Upper Tribunal disposed of 4,635 appeals between April and September 2014, the last date for which figures are currently available. 1,964 of these appeals have been identified as lodged by the Home Secretary of which 730 were allowed. In all cases, lodged by either the appellant or Home Office, the Upper Tribunal dismissed 4,630 appeals in 2013/14 and 2,425 appeals during the period April to September 2014.

Legal Costs

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how much his Department has spent on external legal fees relating to each case involving substantive judicial review hearings since May 2010; and what the outcome of the proceedings was in each such case.

Mr Shailesh Vara: The Department does not keep a central record of the external legal spend and the outcome in every judicial review brought against it or its associated bodies.

Alternatives to Prosecution

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what plans he has to reform the powers of the Crown Prosecution Service to authorise out-of-court disposals.

Mike Penning: On 3 November 2014, the Ministry of Justice published its response to the public consultation on adult out-of-court disposals (OOCDs). This response proposes a new, two-tier OOCD framework, elements of which are currently being piloted in three police forces (Staffordshire, West Yorkshire, and Leicestershire). If this proposed framework were rolled out on a national level, it would require legislation to put Community Resolutions and the new Suspended Prosecution on a statutory footing. However, substantive reform of the legal powers of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is not envisaged.

Disclosure of Information

Tom Greatrex: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the Government's policy is on handling and sharing personal data.

Simon Hughes: The UK Government takes the protection of people’s personal data very seriously. Where there is a legal basis to share information, the handling and sharing of personal data is primarily governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), which establishes a legal framework of rights and obligations which protect personal information. The EU is currently negotiating a new data protection framework, which when agreed will repeal and replace the DPA.

Disclosure of Information

Jim McGovern: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the Government's policy is on handling and sharing personal data.

Simon Hughes: The UK Government takes the protection of people’s personal data very seriously. Where there is a legal basis to share information, the handling and sharing of personal data is primarily governed by the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA), which establishes a legal framework of rights and obligations which protect personal information. The EU is currently negotiating a new data protection framework, which when agreed will repeal and replace the DPA.

Ministry of Defence

Training

Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many of his Department's (a) military and (b) civilian personnel have graduated from the Major Projects Leadership Academy.

Mr Philip Dunne: Holding answer received on 16 December 2014



As at 5 January 2014, delegates attending up to and including Cohort 3 of the Major Projects Leadership Academy (MPLA) have graduated. In Defence, this equates to 12 MPLA graduates; seven Civilian and five Military personnel.

Department for Work and Pensions

Mesothelioma: Compensation

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what amount has been taken from the benefits recovered by the Compensation Recoveries Unit to subsidise the cost of the levy under the Diffuse Mesothelioma Payments scheme in the first year of its operation.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Health and Safety Executive

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information on health and safety practices and records of companies the Health and Safety Executive collects; and what information is made available as open source data.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Housing Benefit: Birkenhead

Mr Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people in the social rented sector in Birkenhead constituency have been affected by the under-occupancy penalty; and what average change in housing benefit each such person has received.

Mr Mark Harper: The Department for Work and Pensions has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what changes there have been in the number of herds under TB restrictions (a) in each area of the UK, (b) in the Gloucestershire pilot cull area and (c) in the Somerset pilot cull area in each month since January 2010.

George Eustice: The latest statistics for herds under bovine TB restrictions can be found online at:   https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/incidence-of-tuberculosis-tb-in-cattle-in-great-britain   Statistics below county level are not available. For Gloucestershire and Somerset as a whole, the number of herds not officially TB free due to a bovine TB incident as at the end of January in each year since 2010, plus the latest published figures for September 2014, are shown below.GloucestershireSomersetJanuary 2010220146January 2011228220January 2012222227January 2013230254January 2014230269September 2014185194

Animal Welfare: Trapping

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps she is taking to reduce the illegal use of snares.

George Eustice: I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave to the hon. Member for Glenrothes (Mr Roy), on 8 September 2014, PQ UIN 208115.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Written Questions: Government Responses

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, when he expects to answer Question 210273, tabled by the right hon. Member for Leeds Central on 13 October 2014.

Stephen Williams: Holding answer received on 30 October 2014



Question 210273 was answered on 18 December 2014.

Social Rented Housing: Housing Benefits

Andy Sawford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of people affected by both the under-occupancy penalty and the introduction of council tax reduction schemes.

Kris Hopkins: There are 4.6 million households in England who are in receipt of local council tax support, as of October 2014. Housing benefit statistics are produced by the Department for Work and Pensions, and can be found online at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/number-of-housing-benefit-claimants-and-average-weekly-spare-room-subsidy-amount-withdrawal

Non-domestic Rates: Kent

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what estimate he has made of the number of small firms and shops in (a) Kent, (b) Medway and (c) Gillingham and Rainham constituency which may have potentially reduced business rates.

Kris Hopkins: The Chancellor announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 bills, bringing the total support of 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement polices to £1.4 billion. This help includes: doubling small business rate relief for a further year. In England, this means an estimated 385,000 properties will pay no rates at all, while a further 190,000 properties will benefit from tapered relief.a 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier. This is a continuation of the 2% cap introduced in 2014-15 as part of Autumn Statement 2013 measures;increasing the temporary £1,000 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16, benefitting an estimated 300,000 properties in England;extending the existing transitional relief scheme for two years for properties with a rateable value up to and including £50,000. These policies are in addition to previous Autumn Statement measures that continue into 2015-16, including: a 50 per cent discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops;allowing businesses to keep their small business rate relief for a year where they take on an additional property;business rates relief for empty new builds; andallowing businesses to pay their business rate bills over 12 months, in order to assist with their cash flow. Central Government also now funds 50% of any local discount granted. The Department does not collect data on a constituency basis, but Gillingham and Rainham constituency lies entirely within the Medway Borough Council boundary. Table 1 shows the number of properties in 2014-15 within the Medway Borough Council boundary that have benefitted from business rates measures extended in this year’s Autumn Statement. Table 2 presents the same information but for Kent County Council, while Table 3 provides a breakdown of the business rates measures by the thirteen local authorities that lie within the Kent County Council boundary.



Tables for Medway and Kent
(Word Document, 30.21 KB)

Local Government Finance

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what guidance his Department has published to assist local authorities to reduce waste and make savings rather than cutting frontline services.

Kris Hopkins: My Department has undertaken a range of work to help councils deliver sensible savings and improve local services. A list of examples is below: 50 ways to save – examples of sensible savings in local government https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/50-ways-to-save-examples-of-sensible-savings-in-local-government Good practice in local government savings https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/good-practice-in-local-government-savings Guidance on detecting and preventing fraud (part of the Transparency Code) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-government-transparency-code-2014 The Knight Review on the scope for efficiencies and operational improvements in the fire sector https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/facing-the-future Fire and rescue procurement and collaboration https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-and-rescue-procurement-aggregation-and-collaboration Guidance on weekly rubbish collections (including guidance on delivering savings whilst maintaining a comprehensive weekly service) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guidance-on-weekly-rubbish-collections Localism Act pay statements guidance (how councillors can use their powers to control senior pay deals) https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/openness-and-accountability-in-local-pay-guidance Taxpayer funding of trade unions: delivering sensible savings in local government https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/taxpayer-funding-of-trade-unions-delivering-sensible-savings-in-local-government

Non-domestic Rates

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, how many small firms and shops will benefit from the cut in business rates in (a) England and (b) Havering in 2015-16.

Kris Hopkins: The Chancellor announced at the 2014 Autumn Statement an extra £650 million of support for 2015-16 business rates bills, bringing the total support from 2013 and 2014 Autumn Statement polices in 2015-16 to £1.4 billion. Autumn Statement 2014 help includes: doubling small business rate relief for a further year. In England, this means an estimated 385,000 properties will pay no rates at all, while a further 190,000 properties will benefit from tapered relief;a 2% cap on the increase of the small business rates multiplier. This is a continuation of the 2% cap introduced in 2014-15 as part of Autumn Statement 2013 measures;increasing the temporary £1,000 discount for shops, pubs and restaurants with rateable values below £50,000 to £1,500 for 2015-16, benefitting an estimated 300,000 properties in England; andextending the existing transitional relief scheme for two years for properties with a rateable value up to and including £50,000. These policies are in addition to previous Autumn Statement measures that continue into 2015-16, including: a 50 per cent discount for 18 months to new occupants of vacant shops;allowing businesses to keep their small business rate relief for a year where they take on an additional property;business rates relief for empty new builds; andallowing businesses to pay their business rate bills over 12 months, in order to assist with their cash flow. Central Government also now funds 50% of any local discount granted. Local authority level data is not yet available for the number of properties that will benefit from Autumn Statement 2014 measures in 2015-16. The attached table shows the number of properties in 2014-15 within the boundary of the London Borough of Havering that benefit from business rates measures extended in this year’s Autumn Statement.



Table Listing Properties in 2014-15
(Word Document, 27.53 KB)

Council Tax

Austin Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will increase the number of council tax bands to increase the proportion of their income wealthiest people pay as council tax.

Kris Hopkins: We have no intention of introducing higher council tax bands. Council tax re-banding would require a wholesale council tax revaluation, hitting ordinary home owners with higher taxes, especially those who have undertaken home improvements. Fundamentally, council tax is not a wealth tax; it is a local charge for the use of local services. The current banded system is intentionally designed to avoid the flaws and inequities of both the poll tax and of domestic rates, the former which taxed multiple-adult homes too much, and the latter which taxed both family homes and pensioner households too much. Both were scrapped for good reason. I would note that the last Labour Government and Welsh Assembly Government jointly undertook a council tax revaluation and re-banding exercise in Wales in 2005. Four times as many homes moved up one or more bands than moved down. Two-thirds of the net rises were among homes (originally) in Bands A to C, meaning that those on more modest incomes were hardest hit. Labour Ministers originally claimed that revaluation was revenue-neutral, but this was not the case. In the first year of the revaluation, council tax income rose by 10%, of which 4% was due to that year's increase in Band D rates, and 6% due to more properties in higher bands due to the revaluation (Welsh Assembly Government, Submission to the Lyons Inquiry into Local Government, Annex B: Council Tax Revaluation and Rebanding 2005, Chronology and Facts, March 2006). To place that in context, a 6% rise in council tax receipts in England would today represent a sustained tax increase on hard-working people of £1.4 billion a year, every year. As the then Chairman of the Communities and Local Government Select Committee, Phyllis Starkey (the then Labour Member of Parliament for Milton Keynes South West), observed: “The Welsh Assembly – I believe it was my party, but I am not making an excuse for it - took advantage of the revaluation hugely to increase the total [tax] take” (3 February 2010, Official Report, column 383). This Government has already taken a number of steps to tackle property tax avoidance by a small minority. Instead of finding new ways to tax people, this Government have given extra funding to town halls to help freeze council tax. A further council tax freeze is available to councils next year. We have handed local residents new rights to veto big local tax hikes, so local people have the final say on the amount they pay. Council tax in England more than doubled under the Labour Government; under this Government, bills have fallen by 11% in real terms, giving families financial security and helping hard-working people with the cost of living.

Public Expenditure

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what his policy is on informing organisations whose funding from his Department is to be reduced of that decision and the reasons for it, before the House is informed by means of a statement or otherwise.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Radicalism

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, pursuant to the Written Statement of 18 December 2014, HCW5154, which individual with extremist views was invited by Islamic Help to speak at one of its events.

Stephen Williams: The Department for Communities and Local Government has indicated that it will not be possible to answer this question within the usual time period. An answer is being prepared and will be provided as soon as it is available.

Scotland Office

Written Questions

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland, what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems his Department has introduced or plans to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.

David Mundell: The electronic Q&A system has removed the requirement to subscribe to The Stationery Office (TSO) feed for Parliamentary Questions (PQs) resulting in a saving to the Department of £6,504.40 per year.The Scotland Office has not had to introduce, plan to introduce or improve any existing ICT systems.The Q&A system has allowed the department to answer PQs later in the day than the previous paper-based system, mitigating against the small number of cases where answering close to the deadline was unavoidable. It also allows hon and Rt hon Members to receive their answers instantly once uploaded, and on the electronic platform of their choosing.

HM Treasury

Pay

Mr Nicholas Brown: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, which organisations collect subscriptions through the employers' payroll service in his Department and its agencies.

Andrea Leadsom: The Chancellor and the Chief Secretary have agreed that the Treasury will continue to pay Trade Union subscriptions through the payroll (known as check-off) on the condition that the Trade Union pay full costs for the service provided.

Television

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, how much his Department spent on the purchase of televisions in (a) 2013 and (b) 2014 to date.

Andrea Leadsom: HM Treasury has spent £1883.87 on televisions in the last two financial years.

Written Questions

Chi Onwurah: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what estimate he has made of the savings to his Department from the Q&A system in the (a) 12 months and (b) five years since 4 June 2014; what additional ICT systems or improvements to existing systems his Department has introduced or plans to introduce that would not have been feasible without the Q&A system; and what assessment he has made of the extent to which the system has made it easier to answer questions from hon. Members on time.

Andrea Leadsom: Treasury ministers are committed to providing timely answers to Parliamentary Questions. The Q&A system, which was introduced in June 2014, has led to greater efficiencies, particularly in relation to the electronic transmission of finalised answers.

Foreign Exchange

Austin Mitchell: To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will introduce legislative proposals to implement procedures which track transactions in foreign exchange markets to facilitate the detection of mispriced customer trades.

Andrea Leadsom: The UK currently has a transaction reporting regime that requires financial entities, including all investment firms and operators of regulated markets to report to the FCA, transactions that relate to financial instruments under the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive. This includes foreign exchange derivatives.

Department for Energy and Climate Change

Fracking

Miss Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what new representations he has received on licensing regulations for fracking; and if he will make a statement.

Matthew Hancock: We have reviewed no new representations on licensing regulations for onshore oil and gas.

Buildings: Lighting

Mr David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what recent estimate he has made of the number of (a) domestic and (b) commercial properties that use LED lighting.

Amber Rudd: We have not estimated the number of buildings domestic or commercial that use LED lighting. We estimate that sales of LED lighting in 2013 had increased to 2.5% of the total sales of lighting. From a recent report that DECC published in the summer of 2014 consumers using these more efficient light bulbs, compared to incandescent, can save over £300 by 2030:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/328083/Energy_efficient_products_-helping_us_to_cut_energy_use_-_publication_version_final.pdf.   



Energy efficiency products (July 2014)
(PDF Document, 536.14 KB)

Electric Cables

Hywel Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, what assessment he has made of the (a) economic cost of using pylons for electricity transmission, (b) the cost in respect of property values and (c) their cost in respect of lost taxation.

Matthew Hancock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has commissioned analysis regarding the respective costs of underground electricity cables and overhead electricity lines. The Electricity Transmission Costing Study, which was published in 2012, can be found at:http://www.theiet.org/factfiles/transmission.cfm.The analysis found that while the costs of individual proposals will vary on a case by case basis, undergrounding is always more expensive than overhead lines. DECC has not carried out a specific analysis of the impact of transmission lines on property values or taxation.

Energy: Prices

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, if he will make it his policy to direct energy suppliers to withdraw charges imposed on customers solely for the purpose of covering the cost of metering and billing.

Matthew Hancock: Metering and billing are essential activities in the supply of electricity and gas to domestic customers and it is reasonable to expect suppliers to seek to recover the costs associated with them.

Cabinet Office

Christmas Cards

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which (a) individuals, (b) companies and (c) other organisations receive Christmas cards from his Department.

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, which (a) individuals, (b) companies and (c) other organisations receive Christmas cards from his Office.

Mr Francis Maude: The Deputy Prime Minister’s Office is an integral part of the Cabinet Office.The information requested is not held centrally. The department's policy is to send e-cards where appropriate.

Voluntary Work: Young People

Jesse Norman: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of the National Citizen Service programmes which ran in summer 2014.

Mr Rob Wilson: Nationally this summer saw the 120,000th participant in National Citizen Service. The Cabinet Office will publish the full independent evaluation of the 2014 programme in due course.

*No heading*

Stephen Timms: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on implementing his Department's efficiency agenda.

Mr Francis Maude: As part of our long-term economic plan this Government announced that we had saved an unprecedented £14.3 billion last year alone compared to the spending in the year before the last General Election. There's more to do and in the Autumn Statement the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury jointly laid out plans to save a further £10 billion by 2017-18 through efficiency and reform.

*No heading*

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what assessment he has made of whether the Charity Commission has sufficient powers to oversee charities and intervene where necessary.

Mr Rob Wilson: The draft Protection of Charities Bill sets out new powers that the Government and the Charity Commission consider are needed to tackle more effectively rare abuses of charity. The draft bill is undergoing Parliamentary pre-legislative scrutiny.

*No heading*

Iain McKenzie: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what recent steps he has taken to reduce barriers to small and medium-sized enterprises participating in government procurement.

Mr Francis Maude: As part of our long-term economic plan this Government is reforming procurement, saving taxpayers £5.4 billion last year alone compared to spending the year before the last General Election. Our reforms are supporting suppliers of all size and we have increased the proportion of business won by SMEs.

*No heading*

Lilian Greenwood: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what future plans he has for youth service provision.

Mr Rob Wilson: We will continue to offer practical support to the youth sector at a time when local authorities continue to make difficult decisions on how to deliver services.We are also providing new opportunities for young people through support for National Citizen Service and the #iwill campaign.

*No heading*

Andy Sawford: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what progress he has made on implementing his Department's efficiency agenda.

Mr Francis Maude: As part of our long-term economic plan this Government announced that we had saved an unprecedented £14.3 billion last year alone compared to the spending in the year before the last General Election. There's more to do and in the Autumn Statement the Cabinet Office and HM Treasury jointly laid out plans to save a further £10 billion by 2017-18 through efficiency and reform.

*No heading*

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office, what steps he is taking to enable social enterprises to compete for government contracts.

Mr Rob Wilson: The government supports social enterprises and public service mutuals (the vast majority of which are social enterprises) to access government contracts in a number of ways, such as encouraging commissioners to consider different ways of procuring through the Social Value Act and the Commissioning Academy.The £10m Investment and Contract Readiness Fund also provides business support to social enterprises looking to take on social investment and public sector contracts, whilst the £10m Mutual Support Programme provides further comprehensive support for public service mutuals.

Department for Culture Media and Sport

Television: Licensing

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what proportion of households possessed a television licence in each of the last 20 years.

Mr Edward Vaizey: The table below sets out the percentage of licensable places that hold a TV licence. This is based on TV Licensing's evasion model which compares total licences in force to total licensable places but does not split between domestic households and other places such as businesses and student halls. Therefore it cannot be stated specifically what proportion of households had a licence. DateLicensable places with a TV licenceMarch 199590.0%March 199690.7%March 199791.0%March 199891.8%March 199993.0%March 200093.7%March 200193.9%March 200294.1%March 200394.6%March 200495.3%March 200595.8%March 200695.9%March 200795.5%March 200895.4%March 200995.1%March 201095.1%March 201194.8%March 201294.4%March 201394.6%March 201494.6%

Television: Licensing

Mr Mark Prisk: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of households with internet access which do not have a television licence.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Such figures are not readily available. However based on estimates 82% of households have some form of internet access. This is based on Ofcom's 2014 Infrastructure report 2014 which quotes 18% of households (estimated) have no home access to the internet, fixed or mobile and 27% of UK households do not take a fixed broadband connection of any kind. Some of these will be using mobile data services, such as 3G and 4G connections on their smartphones or tablets.5.94% of licensable premises do not have a TV licence - this is based on TV Licensing's figure of 94.06% total licences in force to total licensable places. However, this does not split between domestic households and other places such as businesses and student halls. Therefore it cannot be stated what proportion of households have a licence, and nor is the data available on which of these homes have internet access.

Video Games

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of people employed in the video games industry in (a) England, (b) Warwickshire and (c) Warwick and Leamington in (i) 2010 and (ii) 2013.

Mr Edward Vaizey: In January 2014, the DCMS Creative Industries Economic Estimates showed that there were 15,000 jobs in the computer games industry in the UK in 2012. This is an increase from 2011, when there were 13,000 jobs in the computer games industry. An estimate for the number of jobs in the computer games industry in the UK in 2013 will be published as part of the next update to the Creative Industries Economic Estimates in January 2015. Estimates are based on the ONS Annual Population survey and analysis at lower levels of geography is not robust.

Video Games

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the contribution made by the video games industry to UK GDP in (a) 2010 and (b) 2013.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Latest indicative estimates from the DCMS Creative Industries Economic Estimates release show that GVA for the computer games industry in the UK was £540 million in 2012 and £443 million in 2010 (data for 2013 will be published on 13th January 2015). Estimates are in current prices and do not account for the effects of inflation. To note, these indicative estimates of the size of the computer games industry are based on the ONS Annual Business Survey. This is a sample survey and estimates at this level of detail for a single year should be treated with caution as they are volatile. ONS data covers businesses which are VAT or PAYE registered only and does not include the contribution of micro-businesses. For these reasons the computer games data in the release are presented in an annex alongside the headline Creative Industries estimates with these caveats stated. To note these data are already available at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/creative-industries-economic-estimates-january-2014 Recent research by Nesta that seeks to include the broader contribution of micro-businesses together will official suggests that the contribution of computer games could be substantially higher.http://www.nesta.org.uk/publications/map-uk-games-industry

Video Games

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, how many meetings officials in his Department have had with video games businesses in the last 12 months.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Over the last 12 months, DCMS officials have met regularly with the video games industry for example to discuss topics such as the video games tax relief, video game sector statistics and export and inward investment opportunities.

Video Games

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps his Department is taking to support the video games industry.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Government is committed to working with the creative industries, including through the Creative Industries Council, to further boost their growth. Our support specifically for the video games sector includes tax relief which was introduced from 1 April 2014. To date 25 projects have been formally certified as qualifying projects under the scheme. A further 21 new applications have been received in December alone. We have also invested to ensure that games companies have the skills they need, for example with DCMS match-funding for skills initiatives like Creative Skillset’s Trainee Finder scheme. As of October 2014, Trainee Finder had placed 122 trainees in 67 video games companies.

Video Games

Chris White: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, if he will estimate the number of video games companies based in the UK in (a) 2012 and (b) 2013.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Whilst the DCMS has made no official estimate of the number of companies operating in the video games sector recent analysis undertaken by Nesta and the trade body UKIE showed that there could be up to 1,902 video games companies active in 2014.

Broadband

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what amount the Government has budgeted for the current media campaign on superfast broadband; and whether that campaign was discussed or co-ordinated with superfast broadband suppliers.

Mr Edward Vaizey: Based on DCMS insight and research the Government concluded that an advertising campaign would promote a greater take up of superfast broadband. For the areas to be covered by the Government's phase 1 Superfast Broadband Programme, we estimate that up to a further £120m will be generated for investment in further coverage for every 10 percentage point increase on the programme's 20% take-up baseline.The budget for the campaign was based on evidence of previous government campaigns to reach the optimum amount of our target audience. The campaign was coordinated with suppliers and both BT and Virgin Media have linked their advertising to it.

Deputy Prime Minister

Hinchingbrooke Hospital

Andy Burnham: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister, whether he, his advisers or anyone in his Office was (a) copied into any submission on and (b) involved in any discussions on the franchising process of Hinchingbrooke Hospital between May 2010 and December 2011.

Mr Nick Clegg: This process was the responsibility of the Department of Health.I was not copied into any such submissions during this period. Records of meetings attended by officials and advisers are not routinely held.

Department of Health

Public Relations

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much (a) NHS England, (b) Public Health England, (c) Monitor and (d) the Care Quality Commission spent on public relations and communications staff in (i) each year since 2010 and (ii) 2014 to date.

Dr Daniel Poulter: An error has been identified in the written answer given on 05 January 2015.The correct answer should have been:

Below are details of how much each of the four bodies has spent on public relations and communications staff since 2010 or from when the data are available.   To ensure consistency all organisations have provided data according to the following criteria for public relations (PR) and communications staff:   - Press and PR - Stakeholder relations - Campaigns (not behaviour change policy) - Digital Comms (not IT/digital service teams) - Internal Comms   (a) NHS England   On 1 October 2012, the functions of the Board Authority transferred to the NHS Commissioning Board (also known as NHS England), which was formally established as an executive non departmental public body. NHS England took on all of its statutory functions in April 2013. Figures have been given from 1 October 2012. NHS England2012/13(October – April)2013/14(April – March)2014/15(April – November)National Communications£253,963£584,419£1,040,240Communications in local areas £3,558,677£2,595,881NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ) £325,265£461,232   (b) Public Health England (PHE)   PHE was formed on 1 April 2013 - figures from predecessor bodies are not provided.   Public Health England2013/142014/15(to November)PR and Communications staff expenditure£2,888,000£2,323,000   (c) Monitor   Monitor2010/11(April – December)2011/122012/132013/142014/15(to November)PR and Communications staff expenditure£398,973.20 £526,784.85£486,320.81£1,066,790.92£1,223,775.43   (d) Care Quality Commission (CQC)   CQC2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15(to November)PR and Communications staff expenditure£568,951£736,238£1,188,519£1,039,669£780,195

Dr Daniel Poulter: Below are details of how much each of the four bodies has spent on public relations and communications staff since 2010 or from when the data are available.   To ensure consistency all organisations have provided data according to the following criteria for public relations (PR) and communications staff:   - Press and PR - Stakeholder relations - Campaigns (not behaviour change policy) - Digital Comms (not IT/digital service teams) - Internal Comms   (a) NHS England   On 1 October 2012, the functions of the Board Authority transferred to the NHS Commissioning Board (also known as NHS England), which was formally established as an executive non departmental public body. NHS England took on all of its statutory functions in April 2013. Figures have been given from 1 October 2012. NHS England2012/13(October – April)2013/14(April – March)2014/15(April – November)National Communications£253,963£584,419£1,040,240Communications in local areas £3,558,677£2,595,881NHS Improving Quality (NHS IQ) £325,265£461,232   (b) Public Health England (PHE)   PHE was formed on 1 April 2013 - figures from predecessor bodies are not provided.   Public Health England2013/142014/15(to November)PR and Communications staff expenditure£2,888,000£2,323,000   (c) Monitor   Monitor2010/11(April – December)2011/122012/132013/142014/15(to November)PR and Communications staff expenditure£398,973.20 £526,784.85£486,320.81£1,066,790.92£1,223,775.43   (d) Care Quality Commission (CQC)   CQC2010/112011/122012/132013/142014/15(to November)PR and Communications staff expenditure£568,951£736,238£1,188,519£1,039,669£780,195

Mental Health Services: Children

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent in (a) cash and (b) real terms on child and adolescent mental health services per young person in England in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The following table shows programme budgeting expenditure for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) in cash and real terms. It should be noted that: - Children and young people with mental health problems are provided with treatment by a wide range of services and organisations and in a variety of settings. The figures below show what is spent on CAMHS but are not representative of all spending on treating mental health problems in children and young people. - Programme budgeting data does not include expenditure by local authorities, schools, children’s services or expenditure on primary care appointments. - Some primary care trusts (PCTs) may not have had sufficient information to allocate all expenditure on services such as continuing healthcare to specific programmes. - 2013-14 data is not currently available.   Aggregate PCT expenditure on Child and Adolescent Mental Health Disorders  £ million (cash)£ million (real, 2013-14 prices)2008-096837582009-107077662010-117137512011-127137382012-13704717   Source: Programme Budgeting data, NHS England   Notes 1. Programme budgeting returns are based on a subset of PCT accounts data and represent a subset of overall NHS expenditure data. 2. Calculating programme budgeting data is complex and not all healthcare activity or services can be classified directly to a programme budgeting category or care setting. When it is not possible to reasonably estimate a programme budgeting category, expenditure is classified as ‘Other’. Expenditure on General Medical Services and Personal Medical Services cannot be reasonably estimated at disease specific level, and is separately identified as a subcategory of ‘Other’ expenditure. 3. The allocation of expenditure to programme budgeting subcategories is not always straightforward, and subcategory level data should therefore be used with caution. 4. In order to improve data quality, continual refinements have been made to the programme budgeting data calculation methodology since the first collection in 2003-04. The underlying data which support programme budgeting data are also subject to yearly changes. Programme budgeting data cannot be used to analyse changes in investment in specific service areas between years. Users of the data should note that significant changes to the data calculation methodology were introduced in 2010-11. 5. Figures for years 2003-04 to 2009-10 are calculated using provider costs as a basis. Figures for 2010-11 to 2012-13 are calculated using price paid for specific activities and services purchased from healthcare providers. PCTs follow standard guidance, procedures and mappings when calculating programme budgeting data. 6. PCT figures used to calculate 2010-11 data differ from those previously published in the 2010-11 programme budgeting benchmarking spreadsheet. This is due to the correction of errors identified for five PCTs for this year. 7. Aggregate PCT data supersede previously published England level programme budgeting data. England level data incorporated estimates of expenditure on healthcare conditions for the Department of Health, Strategic Health Authorities and Special Health Authorities. England level data is no longer published this data as aggregate PCT figures provide a more accurate and meaningful representation of the breakdown of NHS expenditure by healthcare condition. 8. For 2004-05 onwards, figures are based on PCT spend on own population. This is calculated by adjusting net expenditure to add back expenditure funded from sources outside the NHS and to deduct expenditure on other PCT populations incurred through lead commissioning arrangements.

Mental Health Services: Devon

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adult mental health patients in Devon have been transferred out of the area in each of the last five years.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much the NHS has paid for adult patients referred to psychiatric intensive care beds out of the Devon Partnership Trust area in each of the last five years.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adult patients in Devon have been referred to psychiatric intensive care beds out of the area in each of the last five years.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adult psychiatric intensive care beds were available in the Devon Partnership Trust area in each of the last five years.

Mr Ben Bradshaw: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many adult mental health beds have been available in the Devon Partnership Trust area in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Christmas Cards

Jonathan Ashworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, which (a) individuals, (b) companies and (c) other organisations receive Christmas cards from his Department.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The Department does not centrally send or record the sending of Christmas cards to individuals, companies or other organisations. There is also no central budget held for funding Christmas cards.

Mortality Rates

Stephen Lloyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions (a) his Department and (b) NHS England have had on the exclusion of indicators measuring over 75 mortality rates in the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Jane Ellison: It is not the case that indicators measuring the mortality rates of over 75s are excluded in the NHS Outcomes Framework. An overarching indicator in Domain 1, ‘Life Expectancy at 75’, is derived from mortality rates for people aged over 75 from all causes. This indicator captures premature mortality in a way that does not presume any age-determined limit to when a death is premature.   The cause-specific mortality rate indicators are capped at age 75 because the attribution of the cause of death is more problematic for older people, who often have co-morbidities. Therefore, these indicators could become misleading if they included those aged 75 and above.   However, the Department will keep under review outcome measures for older people as part of the next refresh of the NHS Outcomes Framework.

Dialysis Machines

Jason McCartney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 10 December 2014 to Question 217116, which clinical commissioning groups were consulted about the proposed changes to the commissioning of renal services; and in what form such consultation took place.

Jane Ellison: Consultation both with clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) and the wider public concerning the transfer of commissioning responsibility of Renal Dialysis from NHS England to CCGs is ongoing.   The Department has launched a public consultation which closes on 9 January 2015. The consultation considers how to transfer commissioning responsibility and what would need to happen to ensure a smooth transition and maintain both service standards and patient safety. All CCGs are invited to comment on the proposed changes.   Some clinical commissioners were consulted in their roles as part of the Task and Finish group, as referenced in my previous answer of 10 December, 217116.

Allied Health Professions

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many allied health professionals are working in the public sector; and if he will estimate the number of allied health professionals working in (a) the private sector, (b) the third sector, (c) local authorities and (d) schools.

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many allied health professionals providing NHS services are employed by (a) private and (b) voluntary sector organisations.

Dr Daniel Poulter: The latest monthly workforce statistics for September 2014 published by the Health and Social Care Information Centre on 25 November showed that there were 66,090 full time equivalent qualified allied health professionals (AHPs) working in the National Health Service in England. The number of AHPs working in the private sector, the third sector, local authorities, schools and the voluntary sector is not held centrally.   AHPs are art, drama and music therapists, dieticians, occupational therapists, orthoptists, orthotists/prosthetists, paramedics, physiotherapists, podiatrists, radiographers, and speech and language therapists. Each profession works in a variety of settings including the NHS, schools, prisons, voluntary and private sector, and will have a differing percentage of their profession working in the private and voluntary sector.

Allied Health Professions: Training

Mr Virendra Sharma: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what data sources Health Education England uses to inform its commissioning of training places for allied health professionals.

Dr Daniel Poulter: Health Education England (HEE) is responsible for carrying out the Secretary of State’s functions to secure an effective system for education and training. At a national level, it ensures that the workforce has the right skills, behaviours and training, and is available in the right numbers, to support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement. It allocates and accounts for National Health Service resources dedicated to education and training.   HEE workforce plans are built upon the needs of the 13 Local Education and Training Boards (LETBs) which are employer-led, and informed by the professional expertise of their advisory groups including the Patient Advisory Forum and other stakeholders. This information is used to create demand forecasts, or predictions of numbers of posts, by professional group.   At a local level each LETB will analyse the demographic profile of the current NHS workforce using data from the Electronic Staff Record maintained by employers. This will be supplemented by information available from a variety of sources, including but not limited to, information provided directly by other local employers or gathered by national partners such as Skills for Care. Forecast outturn from current education programmes are sourced from LETB-held datasets. LETBs use this data to forecast the available future supply and use these forecasts as the starting point for discussions leading to the development of a region-wide investment plan as part of their five year strategy. Following local ‘review and challenge’ processes engaging with commissioners and other stakeholders, each of the 13 LETB plans were then submitted to HEE nationally.   HEE aggregates the locally produced demand forecasts and investment plans and these are produced in the second Workforce Plan for England 2015-16 which is available on HEE’s website here:   http://hee.nhs.uk/wp-content/blogs.dir/321/files/2014/12/Investing-in-People-Workforce-Plan-for-England-2015-16.pdf.

Mental Health Services: Dorset

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what representations he has received on the provision of psychiatric inpatient beds for people with learning disabilities in Dorset.

Norman Lamb: A search of the Department’s Ministerial correspondence database has not identified any items of correspondence received since 1 June 2014 about the provision of psychiatric inpatient beds for people with learning disabilities in Dorset.   This figure represents correspondence received by the Department’s Ministerial correspondence unit only.

Mental Health Services

Andy Burnham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how much was spent in (a) cash and (b) real terms on mental health services per head of population in England in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: The table below shows aggregate primary care trust (PCT) expenditure on mental health disorders in cash and real terms from 2008-09 to 2012-13.   Year£ billion (cash)£ billion (real, 2013-14 prices)2008-099.7910.882009-1010.6111.492010-1110.9611.552011-1211.1611.552012-1311.2811.49   Aggregate PCT expenditure is not yet available for 2013-14. However, NHS England advises that total mental health spending in 2013-14 was £11.362 billion with an estimated £11.664 billion planned in 2014-15, an increase of £302 million.   The table below shows how much was spent in cash and real terms on mental health disorders per head of the population, in England, from 2008-09 to 2012-13.   Year£ per head (cash)£ per head (real, 2013-14 prices)2008-091912122009-102042212010-112092202011-122122192012-13213217 Source: NHS England Programme Budget Data   This information is from NHS England’s Programme Budget data and is based aggregate PCT expenditure on mental health disorders.   Programme budgeting data cannot be used to analyse changes in investment in specific service areas between years. Users of the data should note that significant changes to the data calculation methodology were introduced in 2010-11.

Gallbladder Cancer: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges about the use of MPDL3280A for gall bladder tumours.

George Freeman: We have had no such discussions. MPDL3280A is still undergoing clinical trials.

Cervical Cancer

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to promote smear tests for young women; and what estimate he has made of the number of young women who died of cancer in the last five years who had not had a smear test.

Jane Ellison: The coverage of cervical screening amongst women between the ages of 25- 29 currently sees 60% of women in this age group accepting their invitation. The NHS Cervical Screening Programme is working in collaboration with the study STRATEGIC (Strategies to increase cervical screening uptake at first invitation) to identify interventions to increase uptake in this age group in Greater Manchester and Aberdeenshire. The trial looks to test five approaches to help women engage in the NHS Cervical Screening Programme. These interventions include pre-leaflets, online booking appointments, self-sampling screening kits to do at home to test for Human papillomavirus (HPV), nurse navigator to allow women to discuss screening with an experienced nurse and timed appointments, which are pre-booked for the women. The trial is due to complete in 2015 and the programme hopes is expected to report findings in 2016.   Information about the number of young women who died of cancer who had not had a smear test is not held centrally. However, the Cervical Screening Audit was published in May 2012 which is available at:   http://www.cancerscreening.nhs.uk/cervical/publications/nhscsp-audit-invasive-cervical-cancer.html   The purpose of the NHS Cervical Screening Programme Audit was to monitor the effectiveness of the cervical screening programme, identify areas of good practice, highlight where improvements could be made, and to monitor cases where the programme failed to prevent cervical cancer.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent steps he has taken to reduce the consumption of alcohol.

Jane Ellison: We have set out the Government’s approach to reducing alcohol- related harm in the Government’s Alcohol Strategy.   Over 30 producers have committed to the Public Health Responsibility Deal Pledge to remove one billion units of alcohol from the United Kingdom market (around 2%) by the end of 2015. The second interim monitoring report on delivery of this pledge was published on 19 December and found that between 2011 and 2013, the number of units of alcohol in the market has reduced by 1.9 billion. Of this it is estimated that 1.3 billion is due to reductions in the alcohol by volume (ABV) of alcohol products, 0.3bn more than the target 1 billion reduction by the end of 2015. The report has been attached. 



Second interim monitoring report 
(PDF Document, 488.56 KB)

Alzheimer's Disease

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent discussions he has had with the Royal Colleges and the Alzheimer's Society about DNA and memory loss and the prospects for reducing the incidence of Alzheimer's.

Norman Lamb: Improving the treatment and care of people with dementia, reducing the incidence of dementia including Alzheimer’s disease and improving dementia research, is a key priority for the Government.   My Rt. hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Health has and continues to have discussions with a range of stakeholders on these key issues including Royal Colleges such as the Royal College for General Practitioners and the Alzheimer’s Society.

Patients: Monitoring

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to ensure the availability in the NHS of sensor badges to monitor the vital signs of patients.

George Freeman: It is for local commissioners and providers to make decisions on making new technologies available to their patients, taking the evidence of their clinical and cost-effectiveness into account.   NHS England has set out its ambition to accelerate useful health innovation in its Five Year Forward View and the National Information Board has recently outlined how the National Health Service will respond to digital transformations in Personalised Health and Care 2020 – Using Data and Technology to Transform Outcomes for Patients and Citizens.

Headaches

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what estimate he has made of the number of people in the UK with migraine; and what the age range of those people is.

Norman Lamb: Information concerning the number of people diagnosed each year as suffering from migraine and the age range of these people is not collected.   The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guideline, ‘Headaches: Diagnosis and management of headaches in young people and adults’, published in 2012, sets out best practice for healthcare professionals in the care, treatment and support of people who suffer from headaches. The guideline includes specific information on the management of migraines, such as the prescribing of appropriate pain-relief medication.

Mesothelioma

Kate Green: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent assessment he has made of the existence of viable research proposals on the treatment, alleviation and prevention of mesothelioma; and if he will make a statement.

George Freeman: The Medical Research Council (MRC) and the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) have been receiving high quality research applications in mesothelioma. The Government is implementing a package of measures to stimulate an increase in the volume of applications and funded research in mesothelioma.   In the last five financial years (2009-10 to 2013-14) the MRC has received 10 applications for grants or fellowships that relate to research on mesothelioma. Of these 10 applications four were successful resulting in a success rate of 40%. This is higher than the overall success rate for applications to the MRC which during the same period has been between 20% and 25%.   In the last five financial years, 11 applications relating to mesothelioma have been submitted to research programmes managed by the NIHR. Of these 11 applications four were successful resulting in a success rate of 36%. Success rates for NIHR-managed programmes are available on the NIHR website and are typically lower than 36%.   Last year, the Government set up a partnership of patients, carers and clinicians to identify a top 10 list of mesothelioma questions for researchers to answer. The results were published on 8 December. The NIHR has invited researchers to apply for mesothelioma research funding, in particular to address the research questions identified through the priority setting partnership.

Learning Disability

Mr Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many NHS Foundation Trusts have self-certified to Monitor in their quarterly return for January to March 2014 that they are not compliant with the criteria in the Monitor risk assessment framework, relating to meeting health needs of people with a learning disability.

Jane Ellison: No NHS foundation trusts self-certified to Monitor in their quarterly return for January to March 2014 that they were not compliant with the criteria in the Monitor risk assessment framework, relating to meeting health needs of people with a learning disability.

Prescription Drugs

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, if he will bring forward proposals for a mechanism to ensure GPs are automatically notified of delays in the supply of medication.

George Freeman: Joint best practice guidance issued by the Department and the pharmaceutical industry, Notification and Management of Medicines Shortages, a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, advises that companies need to consider whether communication with the National Health Service is necessary, and that they should share communication plans with the Department. The Department expects companies to communicate with general practitioners and other healthcare professionals on medicines shortages where appropriate.

Cancer: Drugs

Mr John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2014 to Question 215687, whether there will be an appeal process during the two-month notice period prior to any drugs being formally removed from the national Cancer Drugs Fund list.

George Freeman: NHS England has advised that any request for a formal review of a decision made by the national Cancer Drugs Fund panel can be made in line with the Standard Operating Procedures for the Fund which are available at:   www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/   This also applies during the two month notice period prior to any drugs being formally removed from the national Cancer Drugs Fund list. Any request for a review of a panel decision must be made by the clinician or pharmaceutical industry representative that made the original application.

Parkinson's Disease: Drugs

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, how many incidents of medication errors involving hospital patients with Parkinson's disease resulting in (a) no harm, (b) low harm, (c) moderate harm and (d) severe harm were reported to the National Reporting and Learning System in each quarter of 2013 and 2014; and which reporting organisation reported each such incident.

George Freeman: A table is attached showing the number of incidents of medication errors involving hospital patients in England with Parkinson’s disease, which resulted in low harm, moderate harm and severe harm that were reported to the National Reporting and Learning System in each quarter of 2013 and 2014 together with the reporting organisation that reported each such incident.   



Medication errors- Parkinson's disease patients
(Word Document, 137.69 KB)

Medical Records: Databases

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what recent progress he has made on the roll-out of care.data.

Dr Daniel Poulter: On 6 October 2014, NHS England announced that general practitioner (GP)-led clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) in four areas of the country would help develop the care.data programme as it moves into a ‘pathfinder stage’. It was announced that the programme would be rolled out in participating GP surgeries in the CCG areas of Leeds North, Leeds West and Leeds South and East (working together); Somerset; West Hampshire; and Blackburn with Darwen.   NHS England led engagements is ongoing with CCG teams in order to develop local project plans and governance arrangements. Positive locality meetings with GPs, practice staff and patient representatives took place in each of the CCG areas during October, November and December 2014.   An initial set of draft core GP and patient-facing materials have been developed taking into account the combined feedback gleaned throughout the care.data ‘listening period’ over the summer, such as from local and national events/meetings about the care.data programme and formal research with both members of the public and GPs/GP practice managers. These materials are being updated following review by CCGs, the care.data advisory group, and other stakeholders such as Healthwatch England and a range of national voluntary groups.   The Independent Information Governance Oversight Panel (IIGOP) Report to the care.data Programme Board on the care.data pathfinder stage was received by the Programme Board on 17 December 2014 and published via the IIGOP webpages. Tim Kelsey, Senior Responsible Owner and NHS England National Director for Patients and Information and the Programme Board responded by welcoming the observations and the insight it offers the programme.   It is envisaged that information will be collected from GP practices involved in the pathfinder stage in early 2015. However, this collection will only take place once the National Data Guardian, Dame Fiona Caldicott, is satisfied it is right and safe to do so. The care.data programme will only be rolled out more widely when the pathfinder stage has been evaluated by Dame Fiona Caldicott and the care.data Programme Board to ensure the approach being taken is the right one.

Diseases: Older People

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps NHS England is taking to monitor the progress of clinical commissioning groups on improving survival of patients aged over 75 years suffering from (a) cardiovascular disease, (b) respiratory disease, (c) liver disease and (d) cancer.

Jane Ellison: The NHS Outcomes Framework is linked to the mandate which provides the accountability mechanism between the Department and NHS England. Likewise the Clinical Commissioning Group Outcome Indicator Set (CCGOIS) provides an assurance mechanism between NHS England and clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) for the delivery of the mandate objectives. Through the NHS Outcomes Framework indicator on the potential years of life lost, NHS England report for all conditions on people over 75. However, this information is not currently available at CCG level.   Nevertheless, the CCGOIS provides clear, comparative information about the quality and associated health outcomes of services commissioned by CCGs and includes indicators on under 75 mortality rates for cancer, cardiovascular, respiratory and liver disease.

Women and Equalities

Gender Recognition

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what progress she has made on the Government's Transgender Action Plan, published in December 2011.

Jo Swinson: The Government has made good progress implementing the actions set out in Advancing transgender equality: a plan for action, and the majority have now been completed.We continue to liaise regularly with representatives of the transgender community to understand their priorities in tackling remaining areas of inequality and discrimination.

Gender Recognition

Mr Chuka Umunna: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what steps she plans to take to raise awareness of transgender issues and transphobia; and if she will make a statement.

Jo Swinson: The Government is committed to tackling transphobia and raising awareness of transgender issues. The Government Equalities Office regularly meets representatives of the transgender community to understand their key concerns, and we raise awareness of transgender issues across Government. On 20 November this year, as we have previously, the Government Equalities Office flew the rainbow flag to mark International Transgender Day of Remembrance to raise awareness of transphobia and to pay respects to those whose lives have been cut short by it. Current Government initiatives to raise awareness of transgender issues and transphobia include:- a £2m fund launched in October 2014 to provide grants to organisations to provide support to schools to prevent and address homophobic, biphobic and transphobic bullying;- guidance for service providers on how to meet the needs of transgender customers and service users;- guidance for employers on how to recruit and retain transgender employees; - advice for transgender individuals on privacy.

Small Businesses: Employment

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Minister for Women and Equalities, what estimate her Department has made of the number of (a) male and (b) female employees who are employed in organisations with less than 250 employees.

Jo Swinson: At the start of 2014, there were 5,236,390 businesses with fewer than 250 people working for them. In total, these businesses employed 15,159,000 people. [Figures produced by BIS, Business Population Estimates for UK and Regions 2014]. No estimate has been made of the gender breakdown of these employees. However, women now make up 46.8% of the total workforce [August – October 2014, ONS Labour Market Statistics] We encourage individual companies to collect and analyse data regarding the number of women they employ at different levels by signing up to theThink Act Report initiative. They are further encouraged to take action regarding any inequalities identified, and to publish details of their progress. Over 270 employers have voluntarily signed up to Think Act Report, covering over 2.5m employees.